The World’s First 3D-Printed Chair Goes to Amsterdam

The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam has acquired the world’s first furnishing to be 3D-printed in a single piece. The Solid C2 Chair by French designer Patrick Jouin was made using a special SLS (selective laser sintering) technique that makes it possible to build such complex structures. The Stedelijk Museum already holds Jouin’s 3D-printed One_Shot.MGX stools, Snotty Vases by Marcel Wanders from 2001 and a few other digitally manufactured pieces.

Jouin began 3D printing in 2004 by creating small scale models in plastic. Through a collaborative effort with digital manufacturers MGX by Materialise, he took the process to a higher level by creating the Solid C2 chair, which looks like interweaving blades of grass. Unlike most of the 3D-printed design objects out there that are usually made as freeform shapes characteristic of the 3D-printing technology, the Solid C2 chair is made from thin wire-like elements that form a wildly complex structure. The chair will be included in the museum’s permanent collection.